I meant to post this a week ago, in time for Easter, but circumstances, like, well, life, intervened. None-the-less, a couple of mint recipes are useful to have.

I usually spend Easter with my folks in Katonah, New York where I grew up. Some years my dad makes a whole roast goat, other years a baby lamb. Either way, he always makes a mint pesto to go with the meat (or has me make it).

When I make Pesto alla Genovese (basil pesto), I usually add a little parsley as well—parsley mellows the basil flavor and adds some depth to the taste. In the case of mint pesto, I add basil. Mint can be slightly hot, and the basil seems to take that down a notch. Mint pesto is wonderful served with lamb, but good with all roast meats. I had some leftover from Easter and served it with seared flank steak that I’d marinated in blood oranges, a variety of fresh herbs, a bay leaf and a tablespoon of home preserved horseradish (see my post of 4/15/09 for the recipe). With a couple of boiled baby Yukon potatoes… a very fast and yummy supper.

Flank steak marinating in blood orange, horseradish and herbs

By the way, if it matters to you, pesto is pronounced pay-stow, and comes from the word pestle—as in mortar and pestle–the way Italians used to grind up their herbs before the days of food processors.

I also make mint jelly this time of year. To be honest, I don’t really eat too much mint jelly, which is more typical of the English palate. But I make about four half pints a year and give two away. And I do like to spice it up with a little jalapeno…it’s great with grilled lamb chops.

Mint Pesto
Makes about 1 cup
You definitely should take a free hand with this—more basil? Why not? Want to add parsley? Go ahead. Imagine that right before every ingredient on the list it says “about.”

Add all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a puree. Add water to thin the pesto to about the consistency of runny yogurt.

Serve immediately, or if you want to hold the pesto for a couple of hours, add a scant ¼ teaspoon Fruit Fresh or vitamin C to hold the green color, otherwise the pesto will oxidize and turn brownish. (It’s still okay to eat.)

To preserve, don’t thin with water. Pour the thick pesto into a sterilized half pint jar (to sterilize boil the jar, band and lid—it doesn’t have to be new—in water for 10 minutes at sea level. Add 1 minute for every 1000 feet above sea level), cover with a prophylactic of olive oil and refrigerate for up to ten days. You can also freeze pesto.

Jalapeno Mint Jelly
Makes 4 half-pints (I sometimes do 2 half pints and 4 quarter pints–the processing time is the same)
The only trick to making this jelly is to have all the ingredients and tools (strainer, jars) ready, because it boils, then jells, fast. This recipe is adapted from one in Putting Foods By. I don’t recommend you halve this recipe as it is really hard to control a small quantity–you’ll end up with mint jelly babies.

Have ready 4 sterilized half pint jars (to sterilize boil the jar, band in water for 10 minut4es at sea level. Add 1 minute for every 1000 feet above sea level), and new lids that have been simmered in hot water to soften the rubberized flange.

Bruise the mint by rubbing it in the bottom of a heavy 4-quart saucepan with a wooden spoon. You will know the mint is bruised when the mint smell comes welling up out of the pan.

Add the sugar, water, and vinegar to the mint in the pan. Over a high heat, bring the mint and sugar liquid to a boil and cook it at a hard boil until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.

Add the jalapeno pepper and continue to boil for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the liquid pectin and the food coloring. Be careful about dropping food coloring straight from the bottle into your jelly–too much color is ghastly. I put 2 drops in an espresso spoon, then swirl the spoon in the jelly.

Boil the jelly hard for about 30 seconds. Take it off the heat, strain the hot jelly through a sieve to remove the mint and pepper, and pour it into sterilized jars. The jelly has to be liquid in order to strain, so don’t let it sit: have your strainer ready.

Wipe the rims, place on the lids and screw on the bands fingertip tight. Process the jelly in a water bath for 5 minutes. Allow the jars to cool, check the seals, and store them in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

Last year I posted a recipe for mint syrup, to use with poached pears or whatever. It’s another nice product you can make with mint. (See my Strawberry panna cotta post of June 2009 for the recipe.)

Eugenia Bone, a veteran food writer who has published in many national magazines and newspapers, is also a cookbook author. She is the author of Well-Preserved (Clarkson Potter 2009). She has contributed to many cookbooks and a few literary journals, been nominated for a variety of food writing awards and participated in radio, interactive and online interviews, in addition to appearing multiple times on television. She lives in New York City and Crawford, Colo.

The secret to tasty food is homemade and seasonal. To do that, you've got to put up food. Well-Preserved reports on small batch preservation year round, and generates recipes from those preserved foods.